Ford's large displacement engines have always been known more for their monster torque and pulling power than their high-RPM revs. The company's little-known iron behemoth 534 is no exception.
The 534 was introduced in 1958 as a viable alternative to the new turbo-diesels that were just beginning to hit the large truck and towing market.
The 534 was part of Ford's Super-Duty engine family, which shared almost no common components with any other.
This monster-block does bear a certain family resemblance to the Y-Series and FE big-blocks that were introduced with it, but everything on the Super-Duty block is at least 10 percent bigger than on either of those.
Road-bound versions of the 534 were rated at 234 horsepower at 3,400 RPM, and 490 foot/pounds of torque from 1,800-2,300 RPM. The engine was surely a porker, at well over 1,000 pounds.
The Seamaster Marine version of the 534 came factory-equipped with a pair of turbochargers and inter-coolers, and made over 400 horsepower and 900 foot/pounds of torque.
